


till we're fixed from the inside

by beecalm



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Character Death, discussions of car accidents, lots of space imagery, nobody is actually dead though, weiss is the voice of reason
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-25
Updated: 2019-04-13
Packaged: 2019-11-05 16:18:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17922173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beecalm/pseuds/beecalm
Summary: “Do you believe in angels?”“I think,” Penny starts, staring into Ruby’s eyes and taking in the way they seem to be threaded with moonlight.Beautiful- she muses to herself. “I think I do now.”(or, in the aftermath of an accident, penny falls in love with the stars and the angel who lives on the balcony next door.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I read a post talking about the idea that silver-eyed warriors are like remnant's version of angels and ran with it  
> it's been years since I've written a multichapter fic and of course I make my re-debut with nuts and dolts  
> weekly updates can be expected if i can keep my motivation going  
> if you want you can also take a listen to the [playlist](https://open.spotify.com/user/bunyoul/playlist/65D0ur8V37FubhAITsUqkB?si=St5ck44PQwWs48RxZdm9LQ) i made for this instead of writing it!

Getting ready for classes no longer feels like routine- Penny remarks to herself in quiet surprise as she watches herself in the bathroom mirror, toothbrush in one hand and her hair damp from the shower spray, hanging loose about her shoulders. It’s a Monday morning and she’s awake earlier than she has been in months, the sun barely skimming the October skyline through the misted bathroom window. She glances at the good luck card on her bedside table as she scrubs at her hair with a towel to remove some of the moisture that clings to it, searching for her shoes as she goes.

 

Call her over-prepared for packing the night before, pencils arranged neatly in rows beside her notebook, but she wants to make a good impression- to make up for the time she missed.

 

The digital face of her watch tells her it’s 8:20 as she leaves the apartment, proclaiming  _too early!_ in lurid green pixels. Leaving early to catch the bus is a new part of her routine- her car long-gone from the pavement outside of her apartment complex. She doubts she’ll be up for driving again any time soon.

 

A cheerful wave to the bus driver and a conversation with the tiny lady- and her even tinier dog- that sit next to her fill up her journey into the city centre, back to the university buildings that she hasn’t attended in months. She muses to herself that maybe she’ll get lost, a stranger amongst familiar corridors and alleyways. Trees pass by outside the window, overtaking the clouds, and Penny sighs, as if she could breathe and her worries would all melt away.

 

It’s Nora who greets her at the bus stop first, barrelling out from the crowd and almost knocking Penny clean off her feet- a thunderstorm on two legs, just as she remembered. Pyrrha follows, grabbing the back of Nora’s hoodie and prising her free- like picking a limpet from a rock (if shellfish could shout and complain).

 

“I could have handled her myself,” Penny pouts, indignant, folding her arms. “I’m still Nora-proof.”

 

“I was rescuing Nora for her own sake.” Pyrrha laughs, good-humoured, loosening her grip on Nora’s hood as Ren and Jaune finally show up, juggling coffee cups and their backpacks. Jaune has his hood up and his drawstrings tied in a sloppy bow, hiding from the weak morning sunlight and chilly October weather.

 

“How you can drink this stuff so early is beyond me,” Jaune hands Penny a cup, the smell of chocolate bleeding into the watery air from inside of it. “One large hot chocolate, as always.”

 

Pyrrha, ever observant, catches the slight hesitation on Penny’s face before she can school it away, a brief pause in which her smile falters. “What’s wrong?” The air feels colder, as if winter has swept in and prematurely knocked the autumn breeze out of the sky.

 

“I drink coffee in the morning now, mostly,” Penny speaks, looking down into the cup with a sigh clinging to the edges of her voice. She shakes her head as Ren offers to go back and get her something else. “It’s fine, no harm done!” She assures.

 

The air still feels chilly, and Penny tightens her grip on the paper cup, letting its warmth seep into her fingers. “I guess it’s been a while,” It’s Jaune who speaks first, glancing towards the ground. “Of course things are going to change.”

 

“Really, it’s no big deal,” Penny tries to interject, to change the subject. “Everything will be back in tip-top condition in no time.”

 

Penny pretends she doesn’t see the disbelieving looks shared briefly across the group before Pyrrha steps in. “Penny is right- it’s just going to take a bit of getting used to,” She smiles in that way that always seems to calm everyone down, although it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “We’re not going to let a car crash get in the way of anything.”

 

It feels strange to hear the words from Pyrrha’s mouth, the subject discussed primarily in hushed voices and skirted around only when Penny seemed to be out of earshot. A secret kept between everyone _but_ Penny. A little unfair, considering that Penny was the one behind the wheel, the one pulled out of the wreckage, the one trying to piece her life back together, fragment by fragment.

 

“Penny, don’t you have a 9AM to get to?” Nora asks, breaking the silence. “If you’re resitting the Digital Circuits unit then you’re going to have a lot of ‘em.”

 

“Yeah, I should get going to that,” Penny nods. “I don’t know how they expect us to deal with binary when we’ve all just woken up.”

 

“Oh _tell_ me about it,” Nora laughs, and some sense of normality settles across the group once again. “So, do you remember how to get to the lecture theatre? Or do you want me to walk you along?”

 

Penny feels the smile fall from her face, and Nora hesitates, her thoughts only just catching up to her words. And Penny can’t help the slight bitterness that creeps into her voice, a contrast to the sweet chocolate that fills her senses from the cup in her hand. “I remember _that_ just fine _.”_

 

 _It’s the trauma of the crash _-__ she’d been told after she woke up with her leg in plaster and no recollection of even getting into her car, never mind swerving off the road, tumbling head on tail in a spiral of fractured glass and metal- _you’ll remember it all eventually._

 

But she hadn’t- the blockade that her brain constructed amongst the wreckage refusing to crumble, refusing to fall. The way her friends kept it stolen away like a secret didn’t help, skirting around the topic as if it were a taboo. She’d stopped asking, eventually.

 

 _Recovery is a slow process _-__ they told her- and Penny found herself inclined to agree- but nobody mentioned that the physical damage would be the easiest hurdle to cross. A year of her life put on hold, in the aftermath of a midwinter drive that she couldn’t even remember.

 

She sighs as she walks the familiar route to the engineering department, her feet following the path as if she were sleepwalking.

 

-

 

It’s much later that Penny returns home and, feeling the need for some fresh air, opens the sliding glass door to her balcony. The worn perspex sticks and locks in place as she pulls, shuddering heavily with disuse. The plants outside have long since died in their ceramic pots, wilted from heat then cold. A lack of water has turned their leaves brittle and crumbling, home to spiders sheltering in their cobwebs from the night-time. Once upon a time, Penny had kept them well-watered, flowers spilling out onto the tiny concrete ledge of her balcony. But she’d never been the best at gardening, favouring codes and circuits with their predictability and their undo buttons over greenery, and her tiny garden soon fell into disrepair.

 

But it’s the night that Penny looks to, not the wilted remains of the flowers, a cloudless sky stretching up into stars and the full moon, bathing the rusted railings and Penny’s hands in an icy glow. She lets herself breathe, airing the tiredness from her limbs and flexing her fingers around the railing as if wriggling them free from her worries, letting them flood away to join the cobwebs and the woodlice.

 

“It’ll be okay,” She tells herself and the moon, in the hopes that a shooting star will fall, somewhere, and make her words come true. “Recovery takes time.”

 

“I thought I was the only one who liked to talk to the stars.” There’s a voice from the next balcony along and Penny startles, stumbling and turning all in one, to spot a girl with eyes like molten silver smiling back at her.

 

Penny had never met her neighbour- she’d always assumed that they were older, that they must work a night shift somewhere, asleep during the day and out while Penny listened for any sign of activity or movement behind the closed door of their apartment. They missed each other in the corridor, never ran into one another in the elevator- and on more than one occasion, Penny had wondered if they really existed at all. Yet here she was, leaning against the balcony rail with a soft smile, her eyes catching the moonlight as if they’re made of it and staring up at the stars like they remind her of home.

 

“I don’t usually.” Penny speaks, finally, glancing back up at the sky. No shooting stars in sight, there to grant her wishes.

 

“You should,” The girl on the other balcony grins, as if she’s telling a secret. “They’re good listeners.”

 

There’s something contagious about her grin, and Penny finds herself mirroring it, the happiness behind it sticking in place and refusing to budge. “I’m Penny,” She introduces herself- it crosses her mind that she’s too trusting (or perhaps the girl on the balcony just seems too trustworthy), but she’s always been one to welcome new friends. “Greetings!”

 

“I’m Ruby,” Red hair and eyes that shine like the stars- Penny won’t forget her name any time soon, she’s sure. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Penny!” They shake hands and bridge the gap between their balconies, just able to reach. Ruby’s is filled with greenery, plants that have shut themselves away for the night, awaiting sunrise, and Penny brushes their leaves with her fingertips as she notices how cold Ruby’s hands are.

 

They fall into silence- _always one for new friends, but never exactly one for conversation_ , Penny muses to herself- and a cloud drifts over the moon, filtering its light through vapour and dust until it shines down in shades of watery silver.

 

“So, what brings you to having conversations with the stars?” Ruby asks, an attempt at nonchalance, although Penny can practically hear the curiosity clinging to her words.

 

“An entire host of things, really,” Penny sighs, always too honest. “Loneliness mostly, though.”

 

Ruby quirks an eyebrow, curious, as she leans against the metal railing. Penny wonders briefly if she’s cold, standing in the October night without a coat to shield her from the frosty edge that hangs in the air. “You seem like the sort of person who should have plenty of friends though.”

 

“It’s more,” Penny hesitates to search for the right words, finding them to escape her grasp all of a sudden. “Complicated than that. I got held back a year, and now my friends all seem to be ahead of me in everything. It’s silly really, but I feel like I’m being left behind a little.”

 

“Well, if you feel lonely,” Ruby speaks up, shooting a smile in Penny’s direction. “You can always talk to me.” And perhaps that’s just what Penny needs- a new start, something unfamiliar to remove her mind from where it’s stuck in a past she can barely remember.

 

“I’d like that very much.” She turns, line of sight bridging the gap between their balconies, and Ruby’s molten silver eyes light up- a string of fairy-lights turning on at the flick of a switch.

 

The shooting star that falls behind them both goes unnoticed.

 

-

 

(“I finally spoke to her!” Ruby sits at a coffee shop table, sugar packets empty next to her mug as she grins, jubilant. Opposite, a girl with hair like snow and eyes like shards of broken ice sighs, hiding a small shake of her head behind her coffee cup.

 

“As much as I’m happy for you,” She speaks quietly, shifting her legs out of the way as someone walks past, seeming to ignore her presence entirely. “I’d advise that you don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

 

“You’re boring though, Weiss,” Ruby pouts, childish. “I don’t want to curtsey to her or glare at her from my balcony.”

 

“That’s a mischaracterisation at best,” Weiss huffs, frown reaching her winter-coloured eyes. “And I’m serious. You _know_ what happens when you interfere.”

 

“I’m not interfering,” A chill descends over the room, filling every corner with cold air despite the door remaining closed. “I’m just doing what I think is right.”

 

Weiss rolls her eyes and sips her coffee. “That’s what I’m worried about.”)

 

-

 

It’s just Ren who meets Penny at the bus stop the following morning, not wearing a coat despite the weather that just keeps getting colder. He hands her a cup- his reward card for the local Costa is _surely_ filled up by now- smiling in the watery morning sunshine.

 

“I got you coffee this time,” Penny peers down into the cup, the sweet smell of chocolate absent from the air. “Like you asked.”

 

“That’s splendid,” The warmth of the coffee seeps into her fingertips, but still she feels cold, a little sad- as if a pattern has been broken, a tradition abandoned. Ren looks at her expectantly, glancing up from the screen of his phone as he no doubt texts Nora to remind her to wake up on time for once. “Thank you very much.”

 

The coffee gets Penny through her morning lecture, information on logic systems sticking in her mind and her interest piqued by the professor’s words, but the absence of sweetness is almost jarring and she can’t help but wish she had never asked for a change at all.

 

She meets Pyrrha and Jaune for lunch, gathering in the student union cafe for cheap sandwiches and cake. It feels comfortable, as if nothing has changed as Jaune almost spills coffee on his history notes and Penny hits Pyrrha on the back so hard it hurts after a piece of sandwich goes down the wrong way. They know they’re being too loud, laughing too much and earning glares from the other students actually trying to study- but the pieces that felt so out of place seemed to have finally find their home, amongst laughter and conversation. Penny finds she can almost almost forget the crash, the hole in her memories and the questions she doesn’t know the answer to.

 

Then Pyrrha bounces one of Jaune’s pens off the table, attempting to get his attention. It flies off course and hits Penny square in the forehead, causing her to blink in surprise as the plastic biro drops unceremoniously into her lap. It feels like the air around them holds its breath in the moment before she bursts into laughter, surprise fading into amusement.

 

She stops once she realises that neither Pyrrha or Jaune are laughing too.

 

“Why do you look so worried?” She asks, hesitant, placing the pen back in Jaune’s pencil case.

 

“I’m sorry,” Pyrrha speaks, clearly trying to hold back a profuse number of apologies. Penny frowns. “I just didn’t want to risk hurting you.”

 

“I feel exceptional right now though,” The fact that Pyrrha isn’t quite meeting her eyes doesn’t escape Penny. “There’s absolutely nothing to worry about.”

 

“I think Pyrrha was just-” Jaune starts to speak, then seems to think better of it, closing his mouth and turning back to his food. _He’s not telling you things, as usual _.__  A small, irrational part at the back of Penny’s mind surfaces, causing a snap of irritation to work its way to the forefront.

 

“I’m _fine _!”__ She can feel her voice getting a little too loud. “Spectacular; even!” Her frustrations work their way up, like bubbles under the surface, waiting to burst and be set free. “I’d feel even more wonderful if you would just tell me things though!”

 

From the way Pyrrha and Jaune flinch, Penny can tell that they get what she’s hinting at, that they can see her anger towards the information that they clearly know but refuse to tell. That Penny feels locked out of a part of her own life, the key hanging just out of reach. She regrets shouting the moment the words are out on the open and sighs as she runs a hand through neatly curled hair.

 

“You know we can’t tell you for a reason, right?” Pyrrha speaks finally, her words proclaiming a number of apologies rolled up into one.

 

“We hate keeping things from you.” Jaune interjects too, expression sincere.

 

Penny lets herself breathe, shaking herself free of her frustrations and thinking back to the previous night on the balcony, to the girl with the silver eyes and her words about the stars and the moon. It’s surprisingly calming, she finds, to remember the touch of her hand across their two balconies.

 

“Jaune, are you going to eat that piece of bread?” Penny’s diversion doesn’t go unnoticed, but they fall back into normal conversation nevertheless.

 

-

 

Ruby is back on her balcony again, shielded from the cold only by a light sweater and a red scarf wrapped around her neck- a stark contrast to the thick cardigan and gloves Penny has bundled herself up in. It’s cloudy this time, the stars hidden from view behind a heavy blanket. Despite the dullness of the moonlight, Ruby’s eyes seem to shine in its place.

 

“Hello again, friend!” Penny greets her with a smile, stepping over the dead leaves of the plants and the crumbling flower stems.

 

Ruby waves from her own balcony, filled to the brim with greenery. “Hello!” She doesn’t seem cold, but Penny wonders if she should offer her a hot drink regardless. “How have you been?”

 

There’s just something about the way Ruby talks that makes Penny want to be honest, wanting to open up her chest and spill out all her secrets for the girl on the adjacent balcony to see. “I could be better, really,” As Penny speaks, Ruby leans closer, listening attentively. “I argued with my friends- they’ve been keeping secrets from me.”

 

“What sort of secrets?” The expression upon Ruby’s face is curious but understanding, leaning slightly into the gap between their balconies.

 

“About something that happened- I don’t remember the details and they just-” Penny tugs at a ringlet of her hair, frustrated. “Keep skirting around it. They won’t even let me know _why_ they avoid the topic so pointedly.”

 

“You deserve someone who is honest with you, Penny.” Ruby looks almost sad, glancing down towards the pavement far below their feet.

 

“Well, I have you.” Penny offers, wanting more than anything to coax Ruby’s smile back into place. Her face looks unfamiliar without it- _unhappiness just doesn’t feel right on her _,__ Penny finds herself thinking.

 

“I-” Ruby starts to talk, then shakes her head, her smile not quite reaching beyond the corners of her lips. “I guess you do.”

 

She doesn’t pry further, and instead turns her face towards the sky where the fragile glow of the moonlight peeks through the clouds, as if it’s struggling to fight its way out from behind them. It’s late and the night is cold, the urge to head back inside pulling insistently at Penny’s feet, but she feels wide awake, as if Ruby is sending her a spark of energy across the gap between them. _It feels like we’ve known each other for years_ , she muses, and, as she announces this to Ruby, the grin she receives in return tells her that she’s inclined to agree.

 

-

 

(“I hate keeping secrets.” They’re in the park this time, Ruby pacing back and forth in front of the flowerbeds as Weiss refuses to look up from the pages of her book, skimming the words with a critical gaze.

 

“You did insist on talking to her,” Weiss speaks up, turning a page as she does so. “You only have yourself to blame.”

 

Ruby sits down heavily on the bench next to her, kicking her feet against the pavement. “I know- I still don’t like it though.”

 

Reaching up, Weiss places a hand on Ruby’s shoulder, closing her book and placing it in her lap. She meets Ruby’s eyes, gaze softening slightly as she speaks, understanding. “You’re just doing what you have to- nobody can fault you for that.”

 

“You know that’s not true.” Ruby sighs, but leans into Weiss’s touch regardless.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on tumblr @bee-calm  
> all feedback is very much appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was supposed to write more of this over the week but instead all i've done is revise and sleep, please feel free to leave donations of motivation in the box on your way out

“Why don’t you tell me something about yourself?” Penny is out on the balcony again, an umbrella held in one hand to keep the rain off her shoulders. Ruby stands adjacent to her, seemingly unfazed by her lack of shelter from the rain. She’s turned it into a routine- heading out by moonlight to meet her neighbour and to talk about the stars and the world below their feet. To Penny, being with Ruby feels like she’s up on the clouds, removed from all her worries- just floating freely with nothing to tie her down.

 

“There’s not really a whole lot to tell.” Ruby laughs, ducking her head as if suddenly bashful, avoiding Penny’s eyes.

 

“I’m sure you’re plenty interesting,” Penny frowns under her umbrella, leaning against the balcony rail. There’s a small potted plant by her feet, one that Ruby had passed across a few nights ago after hearing Penny’s complaints- something about nothing surviving her balcony for longer than a few weeks. __‘_ This one won’t die, I promise you’- _she had stated, and so far, her words had held true. “I talk about myself so much- I want to know more about _you _.__ ”

 

“Well, I guess there’s my friend Weiss,” Ruby glances across to meet Penny’s eyes again. “We spend a lot of time together- but I think she’s only doing it because she has to.” Ruby laughs at her own words, a fond look passing across her face.

 

“Oh, does she not like you?” Penny frowns- much to Ruby’s amusement, it seems.

 

“She might act like she’s sick to death of me, but we’re as close as can be,” The smile on Ruby’s face falters a little. “I made a lot of mistakes and she’s stuck by me and helped me through them all.”

 

“What sort of mistakes?” Penny knows she’s prying, as the only sound that fills the silence that follows is the rain hitting her umbrella in a quiet rhythm. A sigh escapes Ruby as she stares up at the moon, its light drifting down through the rain clouds. She looks almost lost for a while, as if she can’t quite remember where she is, cracks forming in her ever-sunny demeanour.

 

“Maybe one day I’ll tell you.” She’s soaked by the rain by now, and Penny leans over with her umbrella, bridging the gap between them in an attempt to keep her sheltered- even at the expense of her own hair and clothes. Ruby smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes as she waves the umbrella away. She doesn’t elaborate further, just stares with lost eyes into the sky above, lying behind layers of cloud.

 

Neither of them speak for what feels like hours, with nothing but the sound of the rain and the cars below, the shout of a voice as someone stumbles over a loose paving stone, the steady hum of music from the bar down the road. Ruby stares ahead, thoughts wandering, and Penny stays lost for words, hand gripping her umbrella just a little too tightly.

 

“Do you want to meet Weiss some day, Penny?” Ruby ventures, breaking the silence that sits between them like something sentient and breathing.

 

“Oh, that would be just sensational!” And Ruby smiles, her moonlight silver eyes springing back to life, so Penny smiles too.

 

-

 

“Earth to Penny?” Nora’s hand waves aggressively in front of Penny’s face as she blinks back awake, seconds away from landing face-first into her muffin. “You still alive in there?”

 

Pyrrha is holding back a laugh, then apologises at the stern look that Ren fixes both her and Nora with. Nora, unperturbed, sticks her tongue out and resumes poking Penny in the shoulder to prevent her from falling back asleep- to save both her food and her engineering notes that she had forgotten to complete the night before.

 

“Everything is wonderful,” Penny looks sleepily down at her work and goes in for another sip of her coffee. “I’m just somewhat tired.” She picks up her pen, fumbling with the lid and dropping it within seconds.

 

Ren raises an eyebrow, a small smile forming upon his face. “Just a little tired?”

 

Penny sighs, then speaks through the yawn that attempts to interrupt her. “Okay, change that to __a_ lot _tired.” Pyrrha seems to take pity on her, leaning down to pick up the pen she had dropped. She places it back in her pencil case for her.

 

“First you start drinking coffee,” Penny finds Nora staring at her like she’d abruptly grown an extra head. “Then you start sabotaging your own precious sleep schedule?” She shakes her head. “Who are you and what have you done with Penny?”

 

Nora has a point- Penny supposes. Before Ruby- before the highlight of each day became heading out onto her balcony to stare at the stars in the company of a girl with molten silver eyes- Penny always got her eight hours of sleep, heading to bed early with a cup of warm milk to send her off to sleep. But now she frequently talks into the early hours of the morning, Ruby’s company just too good to deny.

 

“I met my neighbour finally,” Penny explains, and Pyrrha blinks, surprised, evidently recalling back to Penny’s complaints that maybe there wasn’t anyone living next door at all. “She’s just so splendid to talk to- I can’t help myself but stay up late.”

 

“And you were planning on telling us this when?” Pyrrha asks, at the same time as Nora slaps her hands down on the tabletop and demands to know whether the neighbour is cute or not.

 

Penny thinks- to the way Ruby speaks to the stars like they’re her long lost friends, the way her hair catches in the late night breeze, the way her eyes always look like they’re holding some of the moonlight in them, tucked away for safety. She thinks of how Ruby listens to her problems, how she laughs at her own jokes, how she makes the world feel bright, even on the gloomiest nights. Feeling her ears start to turn red and a blush rising to her cheeks, uninvited, Penny smiles.

 

“She is quite cute, I must admit.”

 

-

 

(“Weiss, can you do me a favour?” Ruby ducks her head as Weiss glares across the library table at her. Nobody seems to hear them talking, walking past unconcerned.

 

“What ridiculous scheme do you want to force upon me this time?” She asks. Her annoyance doesn’t quite reach her voice, despite the look on her face.

 

“I want you to meet Penny.” Ruby hesitates as Weiss snaps her book shut, the sound of it resonating out into the library. Still, nobody notices the noise. Weiss reaches up and rubs at her forehead, as if the idea is planting the seeds of a headache somewhere behind her eyes.

 

“You know I’m not allowed to do that.” Someone walks past them, carrying a stack of books and almost toppling them directly upon Ruby, completely oblivious to her presence.

 

“Nobody would know though- and if you were going to get punished for breaking the rules, don’t you think they would have done it by now?” Despite the assurance in her own voice, Ruby glances over her shoulder regardless, as if they’re under observation, as if _someone_ is listening.

 

“Still, I don’t think-”

 

“Weiss, please,” Ruby can feel the desperation creeping into the edges of her voice. “I just want to keep my promise to her for once.”

 

Weiss sighs, shaking her head in defeat. “You owe me _so_ much for this.”)

 

-

 

It’s strange seeing Ruby by daylight, Penny thinks, as she spots her across the cafe they had made plans to meet in. It’s the one she normally visits with Jaune, Ren, Nora and Pyrrha, so she knows the layout and menu well; a small comfort amongst the nervous butterflies that flutter around her chest. Her eyes are drawn to Ruby almost as soon as she steps through the door and out of the cold- _as always_ , she reminds herself. Out of the darkness of their balconies, Ruby seems smaller, bundled up in a red scarf and drinking from a large mug of hot chocolate- marshmallows, cream and all. But when Penny sits opposite her, she notes that her eyes seem to glow in the same way, like she brought some of the stars into the cafe with her.

 

“Greetings, Ruby!” Penny smiles as she sits down, then glances around, curious. “Weiss doesn’t seem to be here.”

 

“She’s on her way- she just had to do something first,” Ruby explains, then glances towards the door, evidently waiting for Weiss to make an appearance. To curb her nerves, Penny busies herself with the menu despite the fact she already knows it inside out. “Oh, here she is!”

 

Penny could only possibly describe Weiss as otherworldly, sweeping in through the cafe door in a rush of cold air- her eyes like frosted glass and her hair the colour of freshly fallen snow. She almost seems to glow as she walks and her heels barely make a sound against the wooden floor, before she sits down and eyes Ruby’s hot chocolate with a look of disdain.

 

“That’s going to make you feel sick later.” She rolls her eyes as Ruby gulps down another mouthful, as if making a point.

 

“Penny, this is Weiss. Weiss this is Penny.” Ruby speaks once she’s wiped her mouth free of chocolate, gesturing between the two of them.

 

“Salutations, Weiss! It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Penny greets her enthusiastically, holding out a hand for Weiss to shake.

 

Blinking, Weiss seems hesitant, then shakes her head and takes Penny’s hand. Her grip is _cold_ , like frost is growing across her fingertips, and it takes all of Penny’s effort to stop herself from flinching or drawing attention to it. “I’ve heard a lot about you,” Weiss speaks directly to Penny, then shoots a pointed glance over her shoulder towards Ruby. “You’re all she ever talks about really.”

 

Ruby’s face turns as red as her scarf, and Weiss laughs, a bright, clear sound that doesn’t match her appearance at all. And despite the cold weather outside, despite the nerves that still refuse to shift from her chest, Penny has never felt warmer.

 

-

 

Penny stands by her view that spontaneous trips are always the best ones, so she’s the first to agree when Nora suggests, a bored tone clinging to the edges of her voice, that they go shopping- or she might well start going stir crazy from sitting indoors all day.

 

They’re on their way to the shopping outlet, taking the scenic route around along winding country roads, when Jaune slams the break into the floor and the car comes to an abrupt halt. Pyrrha is in the front and Penny is squashed into the back seat between Ren and Nora, grabbing onto their arms to stop herself from flying forwards and hitting her head on the dashboard. Pyrrha opens her mouth to speak, then she catches the view outside of the window and falls silent as if she has seen a ghost, swimming through the air at the roadside.

 

“I’m so sorry- I’m just so used to driving this way and I-” Jaune cuts himself off, knuckles white from how hard he’s gripping the steering wheel.

 

Penny had never once revisited the place that the crash had occurred, only just managing to piece together the spot it happened through small fragments of information about the night she _had_ been told. She doesn’t know what she expects as she glances out the passenger window, doesn’t know if she should expect to see wreckage, trees knocked aside from where her car had veered off the road, shredded up grass and pieces of metal littering the ground. Instead, it looks like the area had barely been touched, the grass still green and the trees starting to shed their autumn leaves, spiralling down through the air. The only sign that anything had happened there at all were the flowers- small, wilted bouquets laid against one of the trees, tied by faded ribbon with frayed edges.

 

She narrows her eyes, as Jaune starts the car again and drives off, heaving out a shaky breath. “Why were there flowers?” Penny speaks into the silence, and everyone but Jaune, his eyes focused on the road, turns to look at her. “You only do that when someone has died.”

 

Ren and Pyrrha share a look over the car seats, and Penny feels a frown tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Penny, you know we can’t tell you,” It’s Pyrrha who speaks, her words cautious as if treading through a minefield. “It’s not important.”

 

“Yes it is!” Penny’s voice is raised, her hands curling into fists at her sides. “You’re keeping an entire part of my life from me- how is that not important?” Pyrrha flinches, visibly curling in on herself as she lowers her eyes and sighs out a quiet apology.

 

“You’d do the same if it was any of us.” Ren tries to reason, attempting to calm the raised tensions that fill the car. In front of them, the sign for the shopping outlet rears up out of the ground, and nobody speaks as Jaune turns on the radio, anything to drown out the weighted, angry silence that hums around their heads like its alive.

 

In the back seat, all Penny can think about are wilted flowers with their crumbling petals and faded ribbons, settled by the roadside.

 

-

 

“What’s wrong?” Ruby catches onto the frustration that surrounds Penny as she sweeps out onto her balcony later than usual, her hair tied up messily and a mug of tea held in a too-tight grip. She’s wearing the same scarf from the cafe, looped around her neck and brushing against the leaves of the plants as she walks past them to lean closer to Penny.

 

“I’m just so-” She pauses to take a breath, to compose herself before the words all come spilling out, formless. “The secret my friends are keeping- it just keeps getting worse and I can’t help but feel angry at them.”

 

“What is it that they’re keeping from you?” Ruby questions, voice quiet as if she’s unsure of her own words. In the previous weeks, Penny would have said no, brushed off the question and gone back to talking about space and the flowers that clutter by Ruby’s feet- but she doesn’t think she’s ever trusted a person more than she does now.

 

“Early this year, I was in a car accident. All I remember from that night is saying goodbye to my friends at the shopping outlet, getting into the driver’s seat- and then waking up in hospital days later, with no memory of anything that had happened,” She holds onto her mug tighter as she speaks. “They said my memory would come back eventually, but it never did. And my friends- they won’t tell me what happened that night. I’ve tried to find out, I’ve asked my friends, I’ve asked strangers, I’ve looked it up- but it didn’t make the news so there was nothing.”

 

“That sounds awful.” Reaching across, Ruby bridges the gap between them to rest a hand on Penny’s arm, her touch cold but comforting.

 

“It’s like a piece of my life has been stolen from me, and I can’t figure out how to get it back.” Spilling her thoughts out into the night, Penny lets herself cry for the first time in a while, reaching up to brush the tears away from her eyes as her breath comes out in hiccups, and Ruby stands, silent. It feels like she’s right beside her, despite the gap between them that drops down to the street below. 

 

“I think I understand,” Ruby speaks eventually, once Penny has dried her eyes, free from any more tears. “Your friends are trying to do the right thing- I don’t think they would try to hurt you as they care for you a whole lot. Maybe they don’t realise that what they think is right is actually doing damage of its own.”

 

“I’ve told them though- I’ve said so many times that I just want to know.” Penny buries her head in her hands, despairing.

 

“But would you do the same for them?” Ruby asks suddenly, tapping Penny lightly on the shoulder to prompt her to look up.

 

“I don’t quite understand,” Penny frowns, confused. Above them, the sky is cloudless and the moon seems to sap all the warmth from the air around them, drawing it up into space and refusing to return it. “What do you mean?”

 

“If you knew something that would hurt your friends- would you keep it a secret from them?” She asks, fixing Penny with an even gaze. “Or would you tell them, and let them get hurt even more than they already are?”

 

“I-” At Ruby’s questions, Penny finds herself lost for words, unsure of how to answer. “I guess I probably would.”

 

“I’m not saying you just have to excuse everything they’re doing,” Ruby smiles, and in that moment, Penny feels as if a whole swarm of butterflies, wings fluttering, have made their home inside her chest. “But before you decide you never want to see them again or something- just try and understand what they’re thinking too.”

 

“Perhaps I was a little caught up in my own frustration,” Penny laughs, sheepish, and stares down at her tea, now sitting cold in the bottom of her mug. “Are you positive you don’t want me to bring you a hot drink?”

 

“I’m good,” Shaking her head, Ruby smiles, fond. “You being here is just enough.”

 

And despite the cold, despite the heavy atmosphere that settles over them, the dried tears that still sit upon her cheeks and cling to her eyelashes, Penny grins, because she can’t think of anyone else she’d rather spend time with. The moon above seems suddenly warmer, spreading soft light down upon them from where it smiles in the sky, and Ruby’s molten-silver eyes watch Penny in a way that causes her heart to skip in double-time.

 

“You’re like a real life angel.” The words slip out before Penny can stop them, brimming with wonder and some form of admiration. Yet Ruby’s face falls, the smile dropping from her features and the look that replaces it seeming almost haunted. It’s as if Penny’s words had stirred up a ghost in the leaves and plant pots around her. She tries to recover, to reel back in her own words, but Ruby shakes her head and turns away, unresponsive.

 

“It’s getting late- you should go back inside.” Ruby speaks with her back turned, and Penny, words failing her, leaves without another word.

 

-

 

(“I think this was a mistake,” Ruby sighs, her head resting against Weiss’s shoulder and the frown upon her face refusing to shift. “I should never have gotten involved.” Weiss doesn’t respond, just reaches up and runs her fingers through Ruby’s hair, comforting in her silence.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and so the plot thickens (｡･｀ω´･｡)  
> again, you can find me @bee-calm on tumblr !


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> weekly updates, they said  
> ive almost got it all written, they said  
> exams + lack of motivation is kicking my ass rn so ive literally got no more of this done- i promise that one day i will get this fic finished !! please just be (very) patient

Ruby isn’t out on the balcony the following night, or the night after. She leaves a gaping wound in the part of Penny’s routine that she had worked her way into, settling herself amongst her engineering work and cafe visits with her friends. In Ruby’s absence, Penny stares up at the moon alone, accompanied only by the rush of the cars below and the flower that still refuses to wilt despite the cold. By the fifth night, Penny starts to question whether there’s a point in heading outside to look for Ruby at all.

 

“I’m positive that it was something I said,” Penny sighs as she sits down opposite Pyrrha, the two meeting for lunch in a new coffee shop the latter had scouted out- Jaune, Ren and Nora all too busy to make it out to meet them. Six days with no sign of Ruby has taken a toll on her mood, nights feeling so empty when not filled with conversation and brief touches across the rails between their balconies. She stares down at her coffee. “I must have shared too much- or said something strange.”

 

“Maybe you should go to see her yourself,” Pyrrha suggests. “Instead of just waiting for her to come to you.”

 

Penny considers the idea, mulling it over in her head as she blows on her soup to cool it. “I guess I do live right next door to her.”

 

“That’s the spirit!” Pyrrha smiles, encouraging. “If she cares about you as much as you care about her, she’ll want to hear whatever you have to say to her.”

 

It’s not until then that Penny considers the possibility that maybe she had misinterpreted their late night meetings under the moonlight. That maybe Ruby didn’t watch her with stars in her her eyes the way Penny did, that she hadn’t made herself at home in her life then way Ruby had in hers, that maybe she didn’t want to share the whole world with her, arms and heart wide open. Because with Ruby, Penny wears her heart on her sleeve, secrets laid out like a deck of cards, asking her to pick one and take a look- whereas Ruby keeps hers locked away, behind warm smiles and words of advice from the stars above.

 

“Don’t look like that,” Pyrrha catches onto the way Penny’s face falls, reaching across the table to touch her shoulder in a gesture of comfort. “She cares about you- have I ever been wrong about anything?” A smile works its way onto Penny’s face, and Pyrrha frowns. “Don’t answer that.” She cautions.

 

“I’ll talk to her.” Penny resolves, more to assure herself than anyone else.

 

“I’m glad,” Pyrrha’s smile is warm, like the embers that burn in the cafe fireplace and the glow of the overhead lights. “She made you happier than I’d seen you in a long while.”

 

-

 

It takes Penny a long while of pacing the length her small kitchen to work herself up to facing the door of the apartment next to hers. She thinks her footsteps likely wearing holes in vinyl floor as she does so. It’s earlier than the time she would usually head out to talk to Ruby on her balcony, the sun having only just set and the remnants of its light still clinging stubbornly to the clouds outside. In the corridor, she goes through another bout of hesitation, standing outside the closed door and hoping that nobody will exit the elevator or leave their apartments and question what she’s doing.

 

Sighing and forcing aside her trepidation, she raises her fist and knocks.

 

At first there’s silence, the sound of the door knocking into what seems to be an empty apartment, no answer to be found. Penny waits, then knocks a second time, a sigh catching in her throat as she realises she’s unlikely to get a response. Raising her hand again- _third time lucky_ , she thinks to herself- she hesitates in front of the closed door.

 

Before she can knock again, there’s the sound of a latch being drawn, and the door opens.

 

But it’s not Ruby standing there, with her moonlight-coloured eyes and her faded red hair. The man who stands in the doorway instead, with silver hair and a mug of what seems to be hot chocolate in his hand, looks down at her with a curious expression written across his face. And Penny can’t find anything to say, caught up in confusion as she stares past him into an apartment that’s too tidy and too structured for Ruby to possibly live there. Her head swims, her limbs feeling weighed down by questions that come with no answers.

 

“Can I help you?” The man asks, and Penny shakes her head, stepping backwards and almost stumbling over her own feet.

 

“I must have made a mistake,” She can’t even try to fend away the confusion from her voice as she turns towards her own apartment door, back where things feel safer. “Terribly sorry to bother you.”

 

She closes the door behind her without looking back, before sliding down to the ground and pressing the palms of her hands against her eyes as she tries to wrap her head around things. Everything seems to slip through her fingers, any explanation too far out of reach. Through the wall, she hears the door closing in the adjacent apartment, and silence falls upon her once more, the only thing keeping her routed to the earth being the scratch of the carpet against her legs and the tears- of frustration or sadness, she doesn’t know- threatening to spill over.

 

Outside the balcony doors, with their scratched perspex windows and their view of the moon, Penny can see the plant that Ruby gave her sitting out on the concrete, still stubbornly refusing to wilt. And despite her confusion, despite the way her mind whirls and her head feels like it’s caving in- the sight of it tethers her, just enough for her to stand, to brush herself off and to collapse into bed, earlier than she has done in weeks.

 

As she drifts off to sleep, it feels like she’s falling from the clouds that Ruby set her upon, tumbling through the empty night sky with not a hand in sight to catch her or break her fall.

 

-

 

Being outside at night has never been Penny’s forte, everything feeling too claustrophobic, too guarded, the dark barely sliced open by the weak glow of the streetlamps. Stepping from the harshly lit neon aisles of the supermarket and into the cold, late November air is a shock to the system, and she remains in the doorway for a little longer than necessary, letting herself adjust. Because something in the air feels __off__ , as if a small piece of its machinery has been displaced and isn’t sitting right within the night sky and the car headlights that sweep past.

 

It’s only once Penny has left the comfort of the supermarket doorway and stepped out onto the streets, her coat wrapped around her and her shopping bags held tighter than usual, that she realises she feels like she’s being watched.

 

Spinning on her heel, she faces the empty street behind her, nothing to be seen. There’s nowhere for anyone to hide, yet still she feels on edge, breath catching in her throat as she ducks her head and keeps walking, pace a little faster, a little more urgent.

 

Every sound makes her jump, a car racing past, a shop door closing, a bus pulling in at the stop opposite, the world suddenly feeling hostile. It’s too cold, too dark, and the feeling of eyes upon her, tracking her every move clings to her shoulders and refuses to let go.

 

She doesn’t notice the car swerving around the corner until it’s almost on top of her.

 

One second, there’s nothing- and the next it’s the screech of brakes, the car spinning into the road as Penny is bowled off her feet and out of its path. She lands flat on her back on the pavement, her shopping spilling out beside her and rolling into the gutter. The ground is wet from the rain earlier and the breath is knocked from her lungs as she lies there, gasping for air that won’t come to her.

 

And, braced on hands and knees next to her, is Ruby.

 

She’s coughing, her nails digging into the pavement as she tries to catch her breath and her scarf is falling off her shoulders as she struggles to stand. Penny finally heaves in a breath, her lungs kicking back into action as she peels herself up off the ground, head spinning as she stares at Ruby, disbelieving. She reaches out to touch her, to make sure if she’s okay- make sure she’s __real-__ forcing down the questions that burn at the tip of her tongue like wildfires.

 

When she looks up, Ruby’s eyes are _burning._  

 

Like a star fell from the sky and became caught in them, her eyes look like they’re ablaze, streaming light and fire and everything bright- and Penny is _scared_ , recoiling and falling back onto the pavement amongst her discarded groceries.

 

The people that approach, demanding to know if she’s alright, if she got hit, if she can stand, don’t see Ruby, walking past her as if she doesn’t even exist. They don’t see as her face morphs from surprise to horror and, eyes glowing like molten silver, she disappears, leaving nothing to indicate that she was ever there at all.

 

-

 

(“She _saw_ me,” Ruby cries into Weiss’s shoulder as she clings to her for support, as if letting go will cause her to fall. “I ruined everything- I always do.”

 

Weiss holds onto her, huddled in the back of a florist’s shop amongst the winter flowers, poinsettia and pansies with their delicate petals, their legs tangled amongst the fallen leaves and discarded flower-heads. “You can’t just wallow in here- you have to talk to her.” She keeps her voice low although she knows nobody can hear her- even if she shop was open, they wouldn’t be able to.

 

The streetlamps cast a weak glow upon them as Ruby reaches up to wipe some of her tears away, only for them to be replaced by more. “I can’t,” She heaves in a sob, and buries her head into Weiss’s shoulder again. “She was scared of me, I don’t want her to be-”

 

“It’s not that you can’t- you just don’t want to,” Weiss reasons, although her words are gentle. “You made this mess, you have to fix it.”

 

From behind her back, Weiss unfolds her wings and wraps them around Ruby’s trembling shoulders, curled safely amongst the red petals and pale leaves. The night moves on around them, unknowing.)

 

-

 

Penny lies awake that night, head too full of thoughts to even consider sleeping as she lies awake on top of the covers. She feels almost haunted, by Ruby’s eyes, aglow in the dark. The feeling of her hands, cold against her skin as she pulls her from the path of a car and the way she had disappeared from view, as if she’d never been there at all, sticks in the forefront of her mind, unshakeable.

 

Deep down, Penny thinks she’s always known that something about Ruby wasn’t quite right- that the way she would show up by night and talk like the stars were her home just wasn’t _normal _.__ She thinks back to the plant on her balcony that refuses to die, the man who lives next door, unaware of the person who shares his balcony in the middle of the night, the screech of brakes and bright, silver eyes like searchlights in the dark. There was always something off, but perhaps she didn’t want to admit it, Penny thinks to herself, bedsheets tangled around her ankles. _Perhaps I was just so glad to find someone who understands_.

 

She doesn’t know how to feel- afraid, confused, something else- so she buries her head into the pillow on her bed, closing her eyes to shut out the glow of silver that feels almost etched into her eyelids. A sigh escapes her as she once again tries to sleep, to no avail.

 

-

 

“Do you,” Penny hesitates before continuing, spreading her hands into the grass on the hill that looks down over the houses below. Her knees are pulled in to her chest to keep her feet out of the way of Jaune’s work and Nora’s lunch. “Believe in the supernatural?”

 

Pyrrha blinks, evidently surprised. “You mean like ghosts?”

 

“Yeah,” Penny nods, avoiding eye contact. “Or angels, or faeries.” She picks at her shoelaces, aware that Jaune is looking at her like she’s grown another head, no longer flicking absent-mindedly through his notes.

 

“What’s brought this up?” Nora speaks with her mouth full, and Ren hits her in the arm, frowning.

 

“Do you?” Penny asks again- seeking reassurance, any sort of confirmation that the ideas that have started to blossom in the forefront of her mind aren’t unfounded.

 

“I think I do,” Pyrrha is the first to speak up. “I mean- sometimes I just feel like I’m being watched, and not in a threatening way. Like someone is looking out for me.” She looks up and meets Penny’s eyes, as if measuring her response, expression intensely curious. “I have to ask the same thing as Nora though- what are you thinking about?”

 

“You’ve been super quiet recently,” Jaune interjects, and Penny flinches under the eyes of the whole group falling upon her. “It feels weird.”

 

“If there’s something wrong, you can tell us- you know that right?” Ren’s voice is genuine, concern displayed clearly upon his face as if urging Penny to open up and talk.

 

And Penny almost does, almost spills her worries and fears out to them, about the person who is definitely not Ruby living next door, about being pulled out of the path of a speeding car, about eyes burning like fallen stars, about her ideas of ghosts and angels and things that are beyond human, ricocheting around her brain.

 

But then Ruby’s words pull themselves to the forefront of her mind, stopping her in her tracks. _Would you do the same for them?_ And she freezes, both in fear of getting her friends mixed in something strange, something _dangerous _,__ and in sudden understanding, the feeling of a secret so heavy that it feels as if it will shatter her bones, unable to speak a word of it. _Is that how they feel?_ \- she wonders to herself.

 

“I’m feeling sensational- I don’t know what you mean!” As if to make a point, she pushes Nora’s shoulder, the unexpected movement sending her toppling over with a shout of surprise. Nora laughs and lunges back, attempting to tackle Penny to the ground, previous concerns discarded in a flurry of laughter and kicked up grass.

 

She tries not to let on to the fact that her mind is still elsewhere, up on the balcony with the stars scattered in the sky above her and Ruby’s smile providing all the company she could ever need.

 

-

 

It’s a cloudy, starless night when Penny is startled awake by the sound of someone knocking on her window. She’d fallen into a fitful sleep early that night, still not quite shaking the effects of the coffee lingering in her system, causing her mind to stir even as she dreams. At first she thinks she’s imagined the noise, the remnant of a dream that still clings to the corner of her mind as she blinks sleepily. Then the noise comes again, more urgent, the sound of knuckles hitting perspex ringing out into the darkness of the living room. She barely thinks as she turns the torch on her phone and grabs a coat hanger- a makeshift weapon- before edging out of her bedroom door, still in her pyjamas.

 

The hanger falls from her fingers and clatters to the ground as she sees Ruby standing on her balcony, pressed up against the window.

 

She seems to glow- illuminated by starlight that isn’t there. As she catches sight of Penny, she waves, then motions towards the door, beckoning her out towards the balcony. There’s a moment where Penny thinks she might still be dreaming, wrapped up in bed with thoughts of Ruby even making their way into her sleep patterns. But everything feels too real to be a dream, the scratch of the carpet against the soles of her feet, the quiet noise of the radiator in the corner, the fluorescent glow of the microwave timer.

 

Penny’s feet carry her towards the balcony on their own accord, as if drawn to Ruby. She barely hesitates as she reaches down and slides open the door, stepping into the cold winter air outside. Ruby is waiting for her, scarf coiled around her shoulders and her eyes shining like lost stars, as if she can barely contain their light.

 

“I’m sorry.” Ruby speaks after a long silence, her voice subdued and her head turned to stare at her feet. It startles Penny, just how much she’d missed the sound of her voice.

 

“Tell me I can trust you,” Penny moves forwards on impulse, taking hold of Ruby’s wrist- as if afraid that she’ll run and disappear from view once again. Ruby startles, her expression almost afraid. It’s a stark contrast to the way she stood, eyes filled with fire and anger, all those nights before. “I need to hear you say it.” Penny knows she’s too close, too intense, her grip unshakeable and her eyes locked with Ruby’s.

 

“You’re,” Ruby glances down at the fingers curled around her wrist, then up at Penny, her eyes widening. “Not afraid?”

 

“I was,” Penny admits, loosening her grip as she assures herself that Ruby isn’t going to disappear, melting away into the night. Instead, Ruby chases her hand, interlocking their fingers. Her hand icy to the touch, but Penny has never been more glad for contact, gripping tighter. “I was so, so afraid.” She remembers the aftermath of the night, how she’d shaken away the words of concern and ran all the way back to her apartment, then hidden out of sight of broken door leading out to the balcony, haunted by the thought of Ruby, burning like a pyre in the middle of the street then melting into the night like she was a part of it.

 

“I didn’t want to scare you,” Ruby assures, reaching to take hold of Penny’s other hand. “I just wanted to save you- I didn’t mean for you to see,” She hesitates, clearly stuck for the right words to say. “ _That _.__ ”

 

“I’m not scared any more,” Penny knows it’s a lie- and she knows that Ruby is aware of that too, given away by the shake of her voice, the tremor in her fingertips. _You’ve always been a terrible liar _.__ “I just want to know. What is going on?”

 

“Do you believe in angels?” The words bring Penny back to sitting on the hill under the watery winter sunlight, surrounded by friends who fix her with concerned gazes following the same question. She can almost smell Ren’s flask of home-made soup and the freshly mown grass around her.

 

“I think,” Penny starts, staring into Ruby’s eyes and taking in the way they seem to be threaded with moonlight. _Beautiful-_ she muses to herself. “I think I do now.”

 

“Weiss is one too,” Ruby speaks quietly, still holding Penny’s hand. “She fits the image a bit more than me, I think.”

 

“Why me?” In a sudden spike of impulse, Penny throws the question into the night air. “Out of all the people you could choose to watch over, why me?”

 

Ruby’s expression softens. “Because you’re my friend,” Above them, the clouds shift and the moon splinters through, a sudden shard of light falling down and turning the balcony silver. Ruby’s eyes glow, far too bright for it to be just the moonlight illuminating them. “I think even before we met, that was what I wanted the most.”

 

“I’m glad.” Penny finds herself struggling for words, her voice lost to Ruby’s eyes and the moonlight above- to the plant on the balcony beside her bare feet and the gentle hum of the streets below, people walking past completely unaware.

 

“Do you want me to explain more, or-” Ruby cuts herself off.

 

“Not now,” Penny shakes her head, and Ruby nods, motioning as if she’s preparing to leave, glancing over her shoulder towards the night sky beyond. Penny frowns and tightens her grip, holding Ruby in place. “Stay, please?”

 

Ruby’s eyes widen in surprise, then fall into a wide smile, filled with starlight and happiness. “Thank you.”

 

The night fades on, the clouds gradually shifting to reveal an atlas of stars above them, and though Ruby’s hands are cold and her skin glows as if it’s made of moonlight, barely human, Penny feels safer than she ever has before.

 

-

 

(“She knows,” Ruby sits under the Weiss’s wings again, a comic book open on her knees as the other angel brushes her hair, sat on the park grass under the faint glow of the sunrise. The pink hues fall on white feathers, ruffled slightly by the winter breeze. “I think things might be okay.”

 

“How can you be sure?” Despite her words, there’s little scepticism in Weiss’s voice, the smile present in her voice rather than upon her face.

 

“Because she makes me feel alive.”)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the big reveal !! even tho it isn't that big bc you all knew this was an angel au  
> find me on tumblr @bee-calm where i actually post stuff


End file.
